Promoting mindful consumption and girl child education through sustainable design principles.
AVANT-GARDE AHIMSA was designed to instigate mindful consumption in everyday life by the non-profit Handmaking Hope for the all-girls school
The project was geared to raise funds for the education of underprivileged girls under the Right-To-Education Act in India while supporting local communities through the production of sustainable, eco-friendly calendars.
Rooted in the Indian philosophy of Ahimsa, or non-violence, the visual identity echoed ideas of peace and love to remind everyone to ‘start blossoming’ in their everyday life.
Referencing the ‘Ahimsa Movement’ from India’s Independence Movement this work applies the power of transformation to all aspects of life. Designed with a minimal color palette and aesthetic, each page transforms into a postcard when torn along the perforation on each leaf of the calendar. From binge eating to self-referential ruminations— the illustrations in the calendar provided modern metaphors for the injustices and acts of violence we commit against ourselves in the contemporary world. Each illustration was carefully hand-drawn on paper and then transferred to a digital platform. The manufacturing process was conducted out of a small print shop in Fort, Mumbai. The process employed 8 local craftsmen who hand-bound and assembled each piece. The paper and inks used were bio-degradable and sustainable.